Bulpin speaks up for coaches

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Shillong, Nov. 4: Shillong Lajong FC coach Desmond Bulpin has appealed to club bosses and fans to be patient as the “coach is not always at fault”, when Indian clubs like McDowell Mohun Bagan AC have sacked their coaches.

“What disappoints me is the stupidity of Indian football. You lose one match, and there is a demand for the coach’s removal. This is something stupid. The fact is, when a team loses, it is not always the coach’s fault,” Bulpin said.

The Lajong coach made the statement in the presence of Prayag United SC coach Sanjoy Sen. Bulpin’s statement assumes significance in the backdrop of reports that Prayag is likely to bring in Dutch coach Eelco Schattorie to replace Sen.

Recently, Santosh Kashyap resigned as Mohun Bagan’s head coach after the team’s disappointing start in the current I-League season where it lost its first away match to Lajong. Salgaocar coach Karim Bencherifa, who had earlier been with Bagan, was quick to fill in Kashyap’s shoes.

“I had seen that Prayag was the best team in the recent Federation Cup,” Bulpin said.

He added, “If coaches are being sacked in such a manner for a team’s loss, then it is time to sack all the schoolteachers where the performance of schools has not been up to the mark.”

The Lajong coach also said some of the Indian coaches are the best in the business and that a frequent change of coaches affects a team’s playing style.

“If you keep changing the coach, the playing style will also keep changing, leading to inconsistency,” he added.